Are Politicians Playing a Game With Business?

Mad Money host, Jim Cramer says there is a disconnect between what investors are hearing about companies and what is actually happening.

"The disconnect between what we are hearing from individual companies versus what we’re witnessing in the averages is as great as I have ever seen it in my entire career," Cramer said, as stocks closed sharply lower Thursday. "Every day I listen to companies tell me they are not seeing a slowdown."

Take Eaton , for example. The "Mad Money" host noted that the industrial company, which provides electrical systems worldwide, recently said it isn't seeing a slowdown. United Technologies , another industrial name, reaffirmed its outlook for the quarter this week. Wabco , which makes parts for trucks and buses, has also said recently that business is strong.

Speaking of industrials, Cramer said Boeing , Joy Global and Caterpillar are raving about Chinese sales.

Apparel maker Phillips-Van Heusen is also reporting strength, especially in terms of international sales. Elsewhere in the retail space, Macy's and Walgreen are bullish on the environment today. Pernod-Ricard, a high-end liquor company, is also seeing robust sales in Europe.

So what gives? The gloom of the macroeconomic situation is trumping any good news, Cramer explained.

"The negatives get filtered through the mouthpieces of the shorts-sellers and scared analysts then are amplified by the media echo chamber," he continued. "Instead of a virtuous circle of good news from individual companies, we succumb to the vortex of a vicious cycle downward of political news."

Stocks had trended higher Thursday until European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet highlighted downside risks to the euro zone economy, signaling no rate increases in the near term. Trichet made the wrong move, Cramer said. He thinks Trichet should be cutting rates to zero and making it clear that no big bank will be allowed to fail.

Meanwhile, recent antics in Washington, D.C., like the recent debt ceiling debate, continues to erode confidence in the USA. These shenanigans, as Cramer called them, may have prevented individuals from starting their own business. It may have also affected vacation or spending plans, he added.

"Yep, the politicians are playing a game with business, call it Chutes and Ladders, where the CEOs are the ladders and Euro-American leaders are the chutes with the chutes taking this market back to where it started and, at times, then some," Cramer complained. "It’s almost as if when you are at the highest rung of the ladder it pays to jump off rather than risk sliding down the governmental chute the next day."

Someday, Cramer thinks things will turn around and business will be creating more "ladders." Until then, though, he can't blame anyone for selling.

—CNBC.com contributed to this report

When this story was published, Cramer's charitable trust owned Caterpillar